Stop Putting SPF On In The Morning: Lard, Tallow & Ancestral Skincare | Charles Mayfield

episode

Previously titled “OH MY LARD! Why Pig Fat Might Be What Your Skincare Needs | Charles Mayfield” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 5, 2026

Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark 59 min 2 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 3 months ago
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What sparked Charles Mayfield's interest in using lard for skincare?

Alex Clark 0:00
Wouldn't pig fat be not a great idea for people with acne?
Charles Mayfield 0:02
When you think about what's going to clog your pores, it's going to be the ingredients that are least similar to your biology. The skin of a pig is very similar to the skin of a human. Please don't put SPF on in your morning routine. Why? Why would you put a product on that comes with some maybe nefarious ingredients in the morning when it's doing you no good by the time you can actually get sunburned? If your shadow is taller than you are, you're not getting sunburned. The eight step, 12 step, 15 product morning routine that's got SPF and cleanser, then a toner, then a serum, then a spot treatment, then a moisturizer, it's confusing. In skincare, we've been taught to chase complexity and cleanliness over nutrition, over deep bioavailable lipids.
Alex Clark 1:13
Have we all been duped on beef tallow? Because right now, the wellness world is slathering cow fat on their faces like it's the greatest skincare breakthrough of the century, while today's guest says that we may have completely ignored the animal that humans historically use the most, the pig. Yes, this episode is about putting lard on your face. And before you click away horrified, today's guest says that modern skincare may have become chemically overcomplicated, biologically mismatched for human skin, and completely disconnected from how humans actually cared for skin for generations. Charles Mayfield is the founder of Pharoah Skincare, regenerative farmer, a TED Talk speaker, and one of the loudest advocates for what he believes is the most misunderstood animal in human health, pigs.
Alex Clark 1:54
After a severe sunburn recovery changed the trajectory of his life, Charles became obsessed with a question almost nobody in the Maha movement is asking. If we care so much about what goes in our bodies, why are we ignoring what we absorb onto our bodies every single day? But first, please pause and leave a five-star review. I really went there in this interview, so if you appreciate that, take five seconds on Apple or Spotify to click five stars. This show is all about healing a sick culture, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Watch this interview on the Real Alex Clark YouTube channel or Culture Apothecary on Spotify. Please welcome regenerative farmer and founder of Pharaoh Skin Care, Charles Mayfield, the LARD expert to Culture Apothecary.
Alex Clark 2:33
Why did you get into this? Why do you, of all people, care about skin care?
Charles Mayfield 2:38
I had a remarkable recovery from a very nasty sunburn, which I would make the argument, if your melanin content is low enough, everyone can close their eyes and imagine that epic sunburn you had. I came home with a really nasty sunburn. My mother, we used to go to Mobile Bay. She's from Mobile.
Alex Clark 2:59
Alabama?
Charles Mayfield 3:00
Alabama, yes.
Alex Clark 3:02
They have an ocean there? They have a bay connected to... The only thing I know that Mobile has is that leprechaun in the tree.
Charles Mayfield 3:12
They look like a leprechaun to me. All you got to do is look up in the tree.
Alex Clark 3:15
Could be a crackhead that got hold to the wrong stuff.
Charles Mayfield 3:19
This waters off smells right here. This is a special leprechaun flute.
Alex Clark 3:23
I want to know what a goalie. This amateur sketch resembles what many of you say the leprechaun looks like.
Charles Mayfield 3:30
Mobile is a, you should visit. It's a remarkable nugget of American history.
Alex Clark 3:36
You know, I really want to go to Birmingham. I've heard like lots of cool things about Birmingham that they're kind of doing stuff. Am I wrong?
Charles Mayfield 3:42
My lineage is more south of there.
Alex Clark 3:44
Okay.
Charles Mayfield 3:44
I've been to Birmingham a couple of times. They have dog tracks and all the fun things. And Birmingham's a cool town, but Mobile's pretty special. So whenever we would go to the beach, Florida or Mobile or anywhere, the jar of aloe vera would go in the fridge so that when the inevitable sunburn came, it would be cool. I come home. This is July 5th, 2019. I'll never forget the day. I am barbecued, like probably borderline second degree sunburn. It was bad. And I'm sitting in my living room, miserable, and it hit me. I had this jar of lard from the pigs I was raising in my fridge that I was baking with and frying with and doing all the things with.

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